UFC: Belal Muhammad confident he can beat Shavkat Rakhmonov
Belal Muhammad is confident he can beat Shavkat Rakhmonov if the two fight later in 2025, with the UFC welterweight champion pointing out holes in the No.2 contender’s game.
The pair were slated to fight at UFC 310 in December, but Muhammad pulled out at the last minute due to a foot infection.
UFC betting sites had Rakhmonov as favourite to claim the title, with the Kazakh paying -208.33 at Marantelli Bet before the fight was cancelled.
Instead, he went on to beat Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision after the Irishman stepped in last minute.
But with a rescheduling of Muhammad v Rakhmonov likely on the cards later in 2025, the champion — who claimed the title with a unanimous-decision victory over Leon Edwards in Manchester last July — insists he can see weaknesses in Rakhmonov’s game despite his unbeaten record.
“When you’re fighting a guy like Shavkat where they put him on this pedestal to be this undefeated crazy guy, I see holes in his game in the same way I saw holes in Leon’s game,” he said.
“I think Leon’s a better striker than Shavkat, but mentally I think Shavkat’s a lot stronger.
“I don’t see him breaking mentally.
“The biggest thing for him is, now you’re fighting a guy that’s not afraid of you.
“Everybody he fights, they come in there with nerves and they’re afraid: ‘Oh, he’s crazy. He’s a robot. He’s this, this and that.’
“A lot of guys would just fold out of that fear.”
Muhammad believes his aggressive approach and lack of intimidation will be something Rakhmonov struggles with.
“For me, I’m going to be in his face the whole time and it’s going to be the same resolve — another guy breaking,” he said.
“A lot of guys like him [struggle], when you’ve never felt that.
“Where a guy is not afraid of you or a guy is still with you this whole time for five rounds, and he’s pushing a different pace that you’ve never seen before, and ‘I’m supposed to be the undefeated guy’ — you’ve never had to experience that before.
“It’s going to be the worst-case scenario for him.”
